Catcher&#39;s glove or mitt.



JAMES M. RUMRILL, OF OHIOOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

CATOHERS GLOVE OR MIT'I.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application filed March 15,1905. Serial No. 250,197.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'Jnnns M. RUMRILL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicopee Falls, in the county of I-Iampdcn and State of Massachusetts, have I invented new and useful Improvements in Gatchers Gloves, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ball catching hand protectors known as catchers gloves or catchers mitts used principally by base ball catchers.

Heretofore catchers gloves have been so constructed that no well defined ball-receiving recess or pocket is formed, and such recess as has been formed has not been in the desired position directly in front of the palm of the hand, and in catchers gloves heretofore made there has been no flexibility so that the glove has merely acted as an abutment and has not been adapted to hold the ball.

The object of my invention is to produce a device simple in construction, inexpensive in cost of manuiacture, possessing a ball-receiving recess located in the palm portion of the hand, and so constructed that the thumb and part adapted for the first two fingers may be moved and possess the desired flexibility to enable the user to not only catch the ball but hold it in the glove. To this end I provide a ball catching hand protecting pad with a plurality of clefts extending inward at different angles from the periphery thereof and terminating apart from one another at approximately equal distances from the center of the pad. These clefts divide the pad into a thumb part and a plurality of finger parts, all movable independently of one another to grasp the ball. The radial clel'ts terminating at different points tend to center the ball pocket in the palm of the hand and the increased flexibility in connection with the centralized pocket enables the catcher to hold the ball.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure 1 is a view of a glove embodying my invention as seen from the palm or face side, and showing a binding strap on the periphery; Fig. 2 is a view of the same as seen from the back, the strap, however being omitted, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the cup shape of the device and the ball-receiving recess located in front of the palm of the hand.

In detail (1. indicates the palm, b the thumb portion, 0 the first two fingers portion and d the remaining portion of the body of the glove. f indicates a glove having a thumb piece I) attached to the back part of the thumb piece I). c and 0 indicate finger pieces attached to the back of the two fingers piece 0. d and d indicate finger pieces attached to the back part of the portion (1 of the body. All the several parts, a, b and c, of course unite at the center of palm of the hand at the ball-receiving pocket or recess a. A strap is and a buckle Z are arranged at the wrist portion of the hand receiving part to fasten the device on the hand.

It will now be seen that the thumb part b and the first two lingers part c may each be moved independent of the other and independent of the remainder of the device, and it is found by actual experience that it is much easier to catch and hold a ball withadevice so constructed than with one which does not possess the flexibility necessary to enable the movement of the thumb or first two fingers part independently, and with this device a ball may be held with the glove in any position.

To prevent the thumb part b separating too far from the part c and to prevent the part c separating too far from the part (Z I prefer to attach the same to each other by the threads or cords h. V

A strap iand a buckle j may be arranged on the outer periphery, as shown in Fig. 1, to hold the parts together in a solid compact device if desired. This, however, detracts to a considerable extent from the desired flexibility and is to be used only in such cases where the user does not care to utilize the extreme flexibility, as for instance where a party is acting as a catcher it may be desirable to use the glove only as an abutment, while if a man be on a base or acting as short stop or fielding then he may desire a more flexible device so as to be able to hold the ball with certainty when the same is caught, this being oftentimes unnecessary on the part of the catcher, and in such instances the strap may be loosened so as to permit the thumb part b and two lingers part c to be moved independently as h ereinbefore explainedv Having therefore described my invention, what I. claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A ball catching hand protector comprising a pad hming a plurality of clefts extending inward at different on gles from the periphery of said pad and terminating' apart from one another at approximately equal distances from the center thereof, dividing said pad into a thumb part and a plurality of finger parts. all said parts being united with the palm portion and movable independently of one another to form a central concave holding pocket for the ball, and a hand receptacle on the back of said pad pro vided with finger and thumb pockets overlying said independently movable parts.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. RUMRILL.

Witnesses .T. M. STERNS, F. A. CUT'rnn. 

